And another chapter done, just in time for Continuum Turbulence. Ho boy, here comes more depression.
Chapter 13: Puppet of the Opera
After ending the call with M4, Tiger then connected his visor to the scout drone's camera feeds and via motion tracker there were dozens of ELIDs already in the vicinity, nearly tripled that number still coming at full speed.
"Adjutant, we have visual confirmation on the enemy, multiple targets approaching! Your order, sir!" peeking through the cracks of the barricaded window, MG5 reported the situation at the front to Tiger as she and other Dolls behind her readied their guns.
"We're escaping out the back. Ingram, PPSh, P7, StG, and SPAS, go secure our escape route then plant the remaining thermite canister and wait for my signal. MG3 and MG5, that front entrance is on complete lockdown until they're done. Let's get to it, ladies!"
"Yes sir!" following Tiger's order, the Dolls then split up to carry out their respective task.
Taking point, SPAS-12 led the other four toward the back door of the art museum which was barricaded with wooden beams. But for a T-Doll such as SPAS-12, they might as well be wet papier-mache.
With a single kick, all the wooden beams immediately snapped into halves and the large metal door then swung open. The four exited outside and quickly scanned their surrounding when an ELID spotted them and made an untimely appearance. The ELID let out a barbaric roar and charged at the group, when SPAS-12 brought up her shield and took the charge head-on.
"Hnng, aren't you a ferocious one!" SPAS-12 said to herself when the charge connected with her shield and she felt herself being pushed back. While the ELID was occupied with her, Ingram, PPSh-41, P7 and StG44 quickly circled to its flanks and showered it with lead yet the ELID completely ignored them.
"Right! Now is the time for Adjutant's 'contingency plan'!" emptying her gun on the ELID's legs, SPAS-12 then took one step back and proceeded to bash her shield at the ELID, sending it tumbling backward. Quickly, she reloaded her gun with a speed loader then took aim at the ELID's head and pulled the trigger. Following that was an explosion, and that disfigured head was no more.
Splitting his shield into two and anchored them down at the two window, Tiger had denied the ELIDs outside two potential entrances into the building, leaving them no choice but to break through the front door where two machinegun barrels are currently trained on it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Sounds of great force being exerted along with barbaric roars could be heard in succession, outside the ELIDs must be trying to smash the door down with their large grotesque tendril-like limbs. With each smash, the furniture used to re-barricade the door got pushed away even further.
Alas, after taking too many beating from the horde of abominations the wooden door was smashed into thousand pieces, furniture both large and small got blown everywhere, and bullets started flying.
"Open fire!"
In complete synchronization, MG3 and MG5 pulled the trigger on their guns as barrage after barrage of bullets were hailed at the first three ELIDs that got through the door and exploded upon contact and blown their rotten flesh away. The three ELIDs let out a death throe and fell down on the floor but another wave had already taken their place and using that momentum, one of them managed to slip through.
Kneeling on one knee, Tiger aimed at the center mass of the approaching ELID and fired three shots in rapid succession. Three silver slug shots with elongated body and pointed tip left the barrel and after flying a short distance, the bottom caps then combusted and separated themselves from the shots. Gaining a suddenly spike in velocity, the three slugs easily bored through the ELID's flesh and detonated into gory mess from inside.
Barbaric roars completely drowned out by ceaseless barrages of gunfire and before long the ground was completely covered in empty casings. Still no news from the other team yet, meaning their job is still not yet done. As such, the trio continued to fire their guns and hold down the line.
"I'm out!" MG3 shouted as she reached for the next ammo box. Noticing that opening in their attack, two ELIDs immediately pounced toward the left flank, but Tiger was faster. With his tomahawk, he cleaved one ELID cleanly into two with an overhead swing then swiftly tossed a grenade into the other's mouth and sent it flying back toward the others with a kick.
"Adjutant sir, we're all set over here!" on the radio then came StG44's voice.
"Copy that." quickly retrieving his two shields, Tiger then lobbed two Cryo grenades at the door as the ELIDs were frozen solid and became a barricade themselves.
"Time to move, you two!" now that their role here is done, the trio then regrouped with the others and sealed the door shut behind them. It didn't take long for the ELIDs to break free as they immediately gave chase after their prey, unknowingly heading further into a deathtrap set for them.
A few seconds later, the entire art museum burst into a giant bonfire as everything inside and nearby buildings were also engulfed in a wave of raging fire. By then, the whole group had already retreated quite a distance away from there and was planning out the course to their next destination.
"Where to now, Adjutant?" Asked MG5.
"The theatre on the other side of the city, that's where we will rendezvous with the other group and where Intruder will be."
"As per the plan, we will continue to cause a ruckus as we move to draw the enemy's attention away from the AR Team. SPAS-12, you and me will take point. MG3, PPSh-41 and Ingram, MG5 and StG44, keep our flanks and our six clear."
"It's going to be quite a trek so make sure to keep up and do not, under any circumstances, wander off on you own. Are we clear?"
"Yes sir!"
"Alright, let's move out!"
Sometimes later, at a different location.
With Tiger's group drawing every single enemy in the city toward them, the AR Team was able to progress smoothly without encountering as much as a Scout, left alone an entire squadron.
Following the hints left behind with the earpiece, the trio was making their way toward the destination that would be their rendezvous point with Eagle's group. With the snowstorm still going, visibility was extremely poor. But as they approached closer and closer, the silhouette of a giant metal structure could be seen a fair distance away.
"Is that the place, M4?" AR-15 asked, pointing at that giant metal structure.
"If I am interpreting these coordinates correctly then…no, that is definitely the place, I am sure of it." M4 quickly corrected herself and answered with confidence.
"Then let's hurry and get inside. I am freezing out here!" Said a shivering SOP-II, pulling the cloak of her winter gear closer to herself.
Approaching even closer, the giant metal structure finally revealed itself to be an antenna tower so the place they're about to enter must be a broadcast station.
Just like every building they came across on the way here, both outside and inside are completely in ruin. The three proceeded deeper inside with flashlight on when AR-15 shouted at SOP-II.
"SOP-II, wait!"
"Huh, w-what?"
"What's wrong, AR-15?" when M4 asked, AR-15 then walked toward SOP-II and crouched down.
"A tripwire." AR-15 pointed her flashlight at the spot between the debris as a thin, barely noticeable silver wire shone brightly under the light. She then stood up and started looking around with her flashlight as M4 and SOP-II also did the same.
After a while, they found at least six more making it a total of seven tripwires, all of which are very well-hidden throughout the room. Each tripwire is connected to a small tin can with pebbles inside so they assumed they acted as some sort of alarm.
If that was the case then one would have sufficed, why seven? Not only that, only two of the tripwires were set up in spots where someone or something would actually walk by, the rest are instead tucked away in a corner or a hidden angle. So they must serve some purpose other than as a defensive countermeasure.
As they continued to examine the tripwires, M4 suddenly remembered something and began checking inside the tin cans. Just as she thought, the amount of pebble inside each can differ from the others, and they are exactly from one to seven pebbles.
"What's wrong, M4?" SOP-II asked when seeing M4 bringing up the holographic projection of the coordinates inside the earpiece.
"While deciphering the coordinates, there were a few numerals that I just couldn't make sense of no matter what. These tripwires are not meant for uninvited guests, but for us and those numerals must be the password." Searching through the deciphered message, M4 found exactly seven numbers. She then directed SOP-II and AR-15 to pull on the tripwires in a specific order. When the last wire was pulled, another pebble then dropped down from above, along with it a small piece of paper.
'2F, on air', the paper read.
The three then proceeded upstairs to the second floor and began looking for the studio since that's the only room with the sign 'on air' above the door. Creeping their way through the hallway filled with debris, then entering through the metal door that creaked noisily they finally saw a dim white light shining from inside.
"Ah, you're finally here, M4." And waiting for them just inside was M16, leaning against the wall, the white dim light was from a glow stick on the ground.
"Big sis M16…" M4 muttered then dropped her gun and ran toward her. A touching reunion was what M16 thought this scene was supposed to be, but as M4 got closer and closer and began to raise her hand, her face became paler and paler.
"Wait, h-hold on a second-" she tried to defend herself but it was already too late. Her pale blue complexion immediately became beet red when M4's hand slapped across her cheek.
"Ouch! You didn't even hold back! I'm injured, you know! That slap could have seriously killed me!"
"That would have been perfect! We wouldn't even have to download a backup copy of you, we would just start building you from scratch and reset your memory!" in her anger, M4's emotion exploded as she blurted out at M16.
"Oh please, spare me. It wasn't easy making it out alive, at least let me see a smile from my family!"
The situation suddenly devolved into a quarrel between sisters as SOP-II and AR-15 simply stood on the sideline and watched the whole event unfolded. It wasn't until G36 suddenly appeared and broke it up for them did they stop.
The group then headed deeper inside where the rest of the group was waiting for them.
"Welcome back, G36. And it's good to see you're finally here, Ms M4." Large but slightly cramped for its size, the studio was lit up by several glow sticks placed at the center of the room. Seated next to the wall was Springfield and Skorpion with the latter snuggling inside the former's cape because out of all of them, she was the one who dressed the most lightly.
"Sister Springfield!" also shivering to the core herself, SOP-II then ran toward her and immediately snuggled herself in the remaining spot.
"Poor child, you're freezing right now. Fufufu, come here, big sis will warm you right up~."
Leaving the noisy bunch to their own device, AR-15 quietly walked to the next room where all the recording equipment and electronics were kept to see Eagle tinkering with the corpses of a Ripper and a Jaeger.
"Glad to see you all have made it here safely, Ms AR-15. Please wait just a bit. I am almost done setting up over here." Glancing over his shoulder, Eagle greeted AR-15 whilst still tinkering with the two corpses
"Those were some elaborate puzzles you left for M4, Advisor. If the message is already encrypted under three clearance levels and is only unlocked with M4's neural wavelength, then why even set up those puzzles?"
"Would saying it's a contingency plan be an acceptable answer? Of course it wouldn't. Well, it was on Chief's order."
"On Adjutant's? For what purpose?"
"To see just how far her potential will take her. By constantly present her with a test using actual combat situations such as our current as the base, we gauge the current growth of her capability and even then we're still don't have a firm grasp yet."
"Those 'elaborate puzzles'? They're codes that we…that Chief and me developed so supposedly only we can understand them. But you all being here means that Ms M4 was able to decipher them despite never having seen them before. Such a feat already speak volume for itself, don't you think?" hearing Eagle's explanation, AR-15 could only listen in silence. On the surface, she's making an expression saying 'of course, it's M4 we're talking about', but deep inside…
"Advisor-"
"Mr Eagle." As AR-15 was about to call out to Eagle, from behind her M4 entered the room and called out to him first.
"Greeting, Commander. It's good to see you're still unscathed."
"It wouldn't have been possible without Mr Tiger drawing the enemy away. And for getting big sis M16 back, I thank you both deeply. No word could possibly describe my gratitude for you two." Placing both her hands together, M4 thanked Eagle with a deep bow.
"We're only following your order so you don't have to, really."
"Ah, here is your earpiece back."
"Oh, right on time then." Receiving the earpiece back, Eagle then pulled out a cord and plugged it into the plug port on the nape of the Jaeger. The Jaeger and the Ripper, both of them have had their CPUs and their Cores rigged to the electronic equipment by the wall. Even after talking with him and watching him work for a while now, AR-15 still couldn't determine just what is that he's doing with them.
"I've been wondering for a while now, what were you doing with those Sangvis?" hearing her ask, Eagle then stood up and began running a hacking interface on the earpiece.
"I'm borrowing the antenna tower to boost our signal range. By hacking into these two's CPU, we can use them as a medium to eavesdrop on the Sangvis comms. Well, try to, at least."
"Try to?"
"Since Sangvis dolls save the Ringleaders have no need for verbal communication, their language is entirely in the form of codes, binary and the like, so even if we eavesdrop we can't really understand what they're saying."
"Chief tried to solve the problem by replicating the language center from Hunter's DigiMind to translate their language into ours, but Zener network isn't exactly his forte. Due to pressing time, all we have to work with is an experimental version with a fair warning that the coding is a total hot mess."
"I'll be damned, all this set up might actually be just a waste of time now." Eagle spoke with a defeated tone while scratching the back of his head. Just when he was about to submit completely, AR-15 then spoke up.
"Sir, may I have a look at it?"
"When I got captured by Hunter, I've got the chance to look into their Zener network coding. Perhaps I can do something about it."
"…Alright, here you go." Eagle then handed the earpiece over to AR-15 as she plugged the cord into the port on her nape and began tampering with the coding. Several times she made a very annoyed expression followed by a long sigh, other times she nodded her head slightly while probing her chin. Since the whole process takes place only inside her DigiMind, to Eagle and M4 it looks like she's performing a solo comedy show.
About a minute or so later, AR-15 was finally done with tampering and the comms signal transmitted through the Sangvis's Zener network was, slowly but surely, translated into something that isn't just 0s and 1s.
"You did it, AR-15!" M4 complimented as the three of them focused on the translated message being displayed on the holographic projection. The moment the entire message was fully translated, however, their expression immediately turned grim.
After escaping from the art museum, Tiger's group had taken the long detour to draw the ELIDs away from the AR Team. Without a defensive position and having to constantly move, the battle with the ELIDs became just a death game of tag. Worse, by the time a third of the ELIDs was taken out, they were hit with a surprise attack by a Jaeger task force.
With this sort of situation which makes being stuck between a rock and a hard place seems much more preferable, they had to resort to tactics that utilize the environment to their advantage. Blowing up a gas station and setting up an entire building block on fire in the process, for example.
Thanks to that, the number of ELIDs had dropped significantly and the smoke cloud created by the explosion had prevented the Jaegers from picking them off from afar. Sensing that the tide isn't going the way she wanted it to, Intruder had immediately dispatched her main force.
Main street.
Slamming his shield down, Tiger fiercely charged a short distance forward, sending an entire Ripper squadron flying as a result. Following up on his lead, MG3 and MG5 with their gun deployed immediately fired at the Vespids that are in completely disarray in the back.
"StG, Scouts!"
"I see them!" aiming up her gun, StG44 launched a grenade into the air toward a swarm of Scouts. Seeing grenade, they immediately dispersed as Tiger quickly pulled out his handgun and shot at the grenade, detonating it mid-air.
At the same time, SPAS-12 along with Ingram, PPSh-41 and P7 had ran into one of the building to intercept the Jaeger task force that has been an annoyance to them to no end, all the while with an ELID right on their tail.
"That should be the last of them!" hearing PPSh-41 and P7 reported back after taking out the last two Jaegers, Ingram then contacted Tiger.
"Oy Tiger! We're done over here!"
"And the ELID?" on his question, Ingram looked toward the door where SPAS-12 was giving it her all to hold back the ELID right outside.
"Sorry! It's an all-girls party in here and you can't enter!"
"Still right on our ass! Where to next?"
"Get to the roof and escape to the next building! You have 20 seconds so step on it!"
"You heard him! Let's go girls!" Ingram then led PPSh-41 and P7 and ran to the roof first. After making sure that all three of them have escaped successfully, SPAS-12 then also let go of the door and bolted at full speed.
Down on the ground, Tiger quickly scanned the building and found a total of three primary support pillars. With a combination of Cryo and Impact grenade, he froze then collapsed two and took care of the last one with his shotgun.
With all three of its support pillars gone, the building began to collapse on itself. By that time, SPAS-12 had already reached the roof and took a leap of faith to the next where the other three was already waiting for her. With its large and sluggish body, the ELID could not get out in time and was buried along with the rubble when the whole structure came down.
"Next time, no more extra serving for you!" holding onto her own dear life as the three of them tried to pull SPAS-12 up, Ingram rebuked her for her weight which was met with fierce retaliation.
"That should be the last of those abominations…" muttering to himself, Tiger then glanced toward the theater. Another hour has gone by, the number of enemy has dwindled considerably but it is still not at a number where they can just brute force their way through.
There are only two 8-rounds mags left in his reserve and it must be just as bad for the others. He needs to come up with a solution and fast, or else whatever ammunition they have left would soon be used up and they would become no more than sitting ducks.
As Tiger was about to order both units to prepare for a pincer attack on the Sangvis force at the front gate, a barrage of bullets was hailed at the Sangvis from the side disrupting their formation, at the same time the many Dragoons that were just deployed got taken out by sniper shots from above.
"About damn time you show up, Eagle!"
"Sorry for the delay. We rushed here as fast as possible but there were quite a few stragglers along the way."
"Nevermind that now and just keep up the pressure on them. All units, regroup! We will plow right through their defense a make our last stand inside!"
Lifting his shield up, Tiger began charging straight through the sea of car wrecks like a bulldozer as MG3, MG5 and StG44 followed suit right behind him. Noticing the rampaging Juggernaut a moment too late, by the time the Sangvis all turned their gun back at Tiger he had already sent most of them flying with a bash of his shield.
Using the chance that Tiger created, the rest then also pushed up and set up a perimeter defense around the front entrance of the theater. Leaving his shield behind, Tiger then got inside where M4 and the AR Team was already waiting for him.
"Mr Tiger!"
"Good to see you're still unscathed, Commander. And this must be…"
"M16. A pleasure to be working with you, Adjutant."
"Likewise. Now, time to settle the score with Intruder. Lead us to victory, Commander."
"Right!" nodding to each other, the five of them then headed to the auditorium on the second floor, where the final act is about to begin.
Auditorium.
The moment they entered the auditorium, the five immediately spread up and took aim, covering the stage from all possible angles.
On the stage, Intruder stood by her lonesome self with two broken spotlights shining upon her, with her back turned toward the audience. Then in an overly dramatic fashion, she turned around like a ballet dancer and with fluid movement, took half a step back and bowed, placing her right hand on her heart.
"So you have arrived, ladies and gents. And this time, you all were right on time. Marvelous, simply marvelous." raising her head, Intruder continued speaking in the same overly dramatic fashion.
"What's your mission really, Intruder!?" a little taken back by the air Intruder is putting on, M4 shouted at her.
"My mission? I was simply ordered to kill time. And to that end, I've gone the extra length to set up this perfect stage, where we all can have fun."
"Fun? You find joy even in this situation?"
"Time flies when you're having fun, don't you agree?" time is pressing on them, yet the enemy before them insisted on continuing her façade. M4 then decided that they cannot get anything out of her at this rate, so she signaled for the others to prepare to engage.
"It's over, Intruder! We will have our answer, even if that means forcing it out of your DigiMind!"
"Over? No, M4A1. With all the main actors presented, the play has just begun." Intruder then raised her hand into the air and snapped her fingers as the curtain behind her was raised. Standing there on the stage was…something that even calling it an 'abomination' would still be an understatement.
To describe it in short, it was an amalgamation of both rotten flesh and soulless machine. Tendril-like limbs sprouting out from the frame of an Aegis. The scarier thing is that, unlike the ones they have been fighting up till now, this one seems to actually be under Intruder's control. Upon seeing the five before it, the Aegis showed no reaction at all but the moment Intruder snapped her fingers again, the thing immediately roared and charged off the stage.
Quickly moving to the front, Tiger caught the Aegis by its electric baton and shield, stopping it from charging any further. The Aegis then swung down the massive tendril on its back, to which Tiger also managed to catch with his auxiliary limbs.
Feeling certain that the Aegis would be completely immobilized in this state, Tiger was trying to think of a way to somehow reach for either his gun or his tomahawk when the Aegis swung its remaining massive tendril at him from the side and sent him crashing through the wall.
The Aegis let out another roar as if to assert its strength on its enemy then also went after Tiger.
"Right…it's a pair, not a singular one." Laying in the pile debris that he had just crashed through, Tiger silently rebuked himself for making such a rookie mistake. By the time he got up, the Aegis had also caught up and was raring to go for another round.
Staring at it for a brief minute, Tiger then began charging up electricity as the blade of the tomahawk held in his left hand began glow bright red. Without uttering a single word or taunt, he simply plunged at the Aegis and hacked away at it.
Back in the auditorium, the AR Team and Intruder have also engaged in their own battle. As a Command-type Ringleader, Intruder specializes in supporting her troops from long range rather than engaging in the fight herself. However, to think that she's incapable of standing her own ground would be one's biggest mistake. The huge, unconventional looking weapon that she carries serves as both a machinegun for long range engagements, and a rapid-fire chain gun that can shred through virtually anything at close range.
Keeping their heads low while constantly moving between the seats as cover, the AR Team was having a hard time trying to counter Intruder with this relentless hail of bullets that is just waiting to tear them into thousand pieces.
"This goddamn bitch is so annoying!" SOP-II gritted her teeth while blind-firing through the split between the seats. Taking cover not far from there, AR-15 looked around to see if there's anything at all that can help them get out of this situation, the spotlights then caught her attention as she looked up to the scaffold above the stage.
"M4!"
"It worth a shot. Big sis! SOP-II!" understanding AR-15's intention, M4 called out to M16 and SOP-II and signaled at the scaffold with her eyes. They nodded back, and M4 along with AR-15 then returned fire in unison to draw Intruder's attention to them.
"Here comes the bang!" pulling the pin on a flashbang, M16 warned the others with a shout and lobbed it at Intruder. Noticing it just a heartbeat later, Intruder was blinded by the flash and became stunned. With that as her cue, SOP-II launched a grenade from her underbarrel as it exploded and dropped the entire thing down on Intruder.
"Now now, it's only just the climax. Don't go and drop the curtain just yet!" unfortunately, she managed to raise her chain gun in time and shredded the falling scaffold into confetti. But that small timeframe was also enough for them.
Getting up from their cover, the AR Team simultaneously shot at Intruder, forcing her into a defensive position. Being hit relentlessly, Intruder had no choice but to shield herself with her gun, and that was exactly what they were aiming for. As long as they can take out her weapon, they can easily take her down.
Being too dead set on rendering that chain gun inoperable, the four forgot to keep tab on their remaining ammo count and ran out of ammo at the same time.
"!"
"Hehehe, such a marvelous performance of talent. A pity that it was all thwarted by your own flaws." Letting out a small chuckle, Intruder then flipped her gun around and aimed it at the AR Team. Just second before she could pull the trigger, five slug shots had pierced into the ammo box and the barrel and exploded, reducing it to no more than a hunk of high-tech iron scrap. And when Intruder turned her head to where those shots came from, a red-glowing tomahawk spinning in the air was sent flying at her, cleaving her body into halves.
"…So in the end…a machine was still of no match...for a human's cunningness…and perseverance…" lying on the floor with her upper and lower torso feet apart from each other, Intruder finally dropped the overly dramatic tone but her choice of words remained the same. With her finally down for the count, the AR Team quickly got onto the stage and surrounded her.
"I'll ask you one more time, Intruder. Just what is your real objective here?"
"Did I not tell you already? I was ordered to kill time. More specifically…your time."
"Our time…No way…!" when M4 realized exactly just what Intruder was referring to, she subconsciously cried out.
"This…is only the opening ceremony. They've had…plenty of time, to make preparations…The real show…will begin in no time."
"The real show…What is it?" at M4's last question, Intruder reached out her hand toward the ceiling, as if to reach something that she can never grab hold of.
"Oh sweetheart…Drama…is all about…the suspense…" the moment she finished her sentence, the five of them could hear an audible beeping noise coming from every corner of the auditorium. Intruder then snapped her fingers as the explosive charges planted all over the theater began to their sequential detonation.
"Commander, it's time we move!" Tiger shouted as they quickly ran out of the auditorium. Once again having the whole stage to herself, Intruder spoke her last words with a satisfied yet melancholic expression.
"The script has played out just like how it was written…only I was the presumptuous one…To think I even branded myself…as the main villainess…But…going against what was already set in stone…"
"It's not…such a bad feeling…"
As the sequential detonation continued, the whole building started shaking even more violently. By the time they got down to the first floor, the beams supporting the entire structure were ready to give in any minute. The stairway leading down to the main hall was already within sight, from there it's just a straight shot to the exit. They ran without looking back even once, but the moment they reached the stairway, the floor underneath was the first to collapse and the unfortunate one was SOP-II.
Without thinking twice, Tiger immediately turned around and jumped down the hole after SOP-II
"SOP-II! Mr Tiger!"
"M4, we have to go now!" disregarding the struggling M4, AR-15 and M16 dragged her out of the collapsing building. The moment they got out, not only did the entire building collapsed, but the ground under them had also caved in, creating a giant crater.
"SOP-II! Mr Tiger!" finally got free of AR-15, M4 immediately ran to the edge of the crater and called out for the two of them. Before her there are only rubbles and debris as far as the eye can see, but not a single response. She continued to call out repeatedly but just like the first time, there was only silence.
She continued to call out, to the point she completely forgot about everything else around her, until her throat felt hoarse and she collapsed on her knees.
"No way…" M4 dropped her head dejectedly. When the cloud of smoke and dust had settled down somewhat, the other Dolls immediately slid down the crater and started searching for any sign of those two. From above, Eagle scanned the crater with his goggles, but there was just too much concrete that all he got was interference. Switching the filter of his scan a few times, Eagle then called for the Dolls to dig up a certain spot and like a miracle, their radio picked up a signal.
"Does any…e…read me…Commander…Eagle…" hearing Tiger's voice on the radio, M4 immediately raised her face.
"Mr Tiger!? Are you injured? Is SOP-II with you? Where are you?" the signal is still extremely weak. The Dolls then dug up that spot a little bit more and the call was able to get through without breaking up.
"I'm fine, and SOP-II is here with me. We fell into the basement and had taken shelter inside, but now we're stuck."
"Please hold on! We'll get you two out of there right away!"
Under the debris.
To not make M4 worried, Tiger had lied that they took shelter in the basement but in fact, when they found the place the blast door was the only thing left that was still intact. Nowhere left to run to and hundreds of tons of concrete and metal are still coming down on them, so Tiger had to ripped the doo out of its hinges and used it to cover the two of them.
Ending the call, he turned on the flashlight on his visor and looked around. The blast door was placed leaning against the wall and held back by the two auxiliary limbs, thanks to that the spot they're in managed to escape being buried by rubbles and debris when they came down. Right now, all they can do is wait and hope that there won't be another cave-in.
"Are you injured, SOP-II?" after checking to make sure at the very least this spot of theirs will be relatively safe until they're dug out, Tiger looked down at SOP-II who was still comfrotably nestling herself on his chest.
"…" with just a glance, there appears to be no serious injury, but SOP-II still did not answer.
"SOP-II?" only until Tiger asked a second did she speak up.
"Hey, Adjutant…"
"What?"
"Can you do that thing one more time?"
"Do what thing?"
"When we were falling, you pulled me in and cushion the fall for me. That thing!"
"Why?"
"…So it's a no?" when SOP-II looked up with slightly disappointed eyes, Tiger let out a very long sigh then wrapped his arms around her.
"Well, not like I have anything else to do. There, happy?"
"Hehehe~, thank you Adjutant!"
"You're a weird one, you know that."
And about 30 minutes later, they were dug out by the rescue team.